Legends of Terra: War of the Seasons
by ObsidianFlutes
Summary: Welcome to the third and final installment of the thrilling Legends of Terra series! After the defeat of the Wall of Flesh, a strange corrupted snow spreads over the land, and it's up to Bryn, James, and Amber to stop the War of the Seasons...
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

Chapter 1

_When the world of Terraria was created, it was rough. Unregulated. Wild. The great gods and goddesses of Terraria - the Devs - added many things to make the world a better place._

_Then three deities rose from the dust of Terraria. The first, Ocram, moved to a faraway land known as Khonsol Edishonn. The second was named Herobrine, and this ivory-eyed man moved to a land even farther away, and was accepted into a society of gods that called themselves Mojang. The third deity was Cthulhu, and he stayed in the land of Terraria._

_Four of Cthulhu's descendants went on to begin controlling the seasons, and under the wise rule of these four the land of Terraria finally became a hospitable place._

_The first season-keeper was Plantera, the Perennial One, goddess of the Lihzahrd. This jungle queen kept the spring, letting flowers bloom, grass grow and the sun beam warm upon the land. It was she, in fact, who taught the natives of Terraria how to harden clay into bricks, and from this technology she and her Lihzahrd followers built her golem, which she kept in a secure temple to use only in battle. She also taught them how to speak the pygmy language and how to play the electric guitar._

_The second season-keeper was Honey, the Queen Bee. The ruler of both vile poison and sweet nectar, the Queen Bee kept the summer. She let fruits grow on the trees, and her loyal subjects made great quantities of the delicious healing honey for the natives to eat. It was this keeper who taught the natives the technology of using various poisons to stun and kill the abominations of the Crimson._

_The third season-keeper was Lord Gourd. The pumpkin sovereign, though a universal effigy of terror, was kind to the natives despite his fearsome reputation. It was he, in fact, who taught them the secrets of fire and the knowledge of agriculture. It was he who made the leaves of the trees burst into color in autumn and it was he who taught the natives how to preserve their food for the winter._

_The fourth and final season-keeper was Bianca the White. It was she who made snow fall through the stark branches of the trees. She taught the natives techniques to survive in the snow, how to tame wolves, and how to keep warm in a blizzard. However, unlike the other three season-keepers, this snow queen was haughty and cold. She was the cruelest and coldest-hearted of the four, and it was because of her that a war started between them, and the only people who would be able to stop it were a pair of young archers and a healer._

_This is their story._


	2. Chapter 2: Lightning Boots

Chapter 2 - Lightning Boots

**I'm trying something new this installment: NAMED CHAPTERS! Also, for future reference, the "Great Piranha Massacre" is based off of real events. As a result, Khallithe (my newest Terraria character) is the proud owner of not one, but two robot hats.**

A huge cloud of dust trailed behind Bryn as she raced across the courtyard. The wind blew in her face, sweeping her chocolate brown hair behind her. Mom would be so proud of her when she saw what she had made.

A shout broke her reverie. "BRYN!" Bryn, with an effort, skidded to a stop and landed on her bottom. She looked up into the face of her friend James.

"Oh, hi, James. I'm just testing out my newest creation!" she said, smiling at him and getting to her feet.

"And that would be...?" asked James, steeling himself for the unexpected.

"I call them Lightning Boots," said Bryn, showing off the shoes she was wearing. They were an aggressive electric yellow, with white soles and small lightning bolts adorning the sides. "They let me run SUPER fast and they even allow flight! Check this out!" She jumped into the air and the boots activated instantaneously, sending her flying up in the air. After a second, though, she lost her balance and fell to the ground.

Bryn grinned sheepishly up at James. "The fuel's a little unstable."

"You don't say," he replied icily. "You've got to stop doing this, Bryn. One of these days you'll hurt yourself. Remember the Great Piranha Massacre? You almost lost your foot."

"But I didn't," she smirked. "And for the record, those piranhas had it _coming_."

James shook his head. "You're just like your mother."

"Whatever, man," said Bryn, getting up and dusting herself off. "I'm going to go show these off to a more appreciative audience."

"Be my guest. Maybe you can get some protective gear while you're at it," James shouted back at her.

Bryn sped into her quarters. "Hi, Mom," she said, removing her shoes. "Look at what I made today."

"That's wonderful, Bryn," said her mother, brushing back her chocolate-colored pigtails. "What do they do?"

"Think of ice skates on steroids and that'll give you an idea of how fast I can run with these on," Bryn said proudly.

"Wow," said Bryn's mother. "You can outrun anything with those! I wish I had those a few years ago. May I see them?"

"Sure," said Bryn, putting the electric yellow shoes in her mother's hands.

Monavelle Skyvale raised the shoes to eye level and peered at them. "These are truly amazing, Bryn."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - In Which We Encounter A Random Cutscene

_Meanwhile, in the snowy mountains..._

The queen sat on her throne, staring at the doorway. Sure enough, one of her emissaries walked in, a living evergreen tree. It bowed, spraying pine needles all around the throne room, and saluted with one of its branchlike arms.

"I am honored to enter Her Majesty's chamber," it said in a high, thin voice.

"At ease, Razorleaf," the queen replied. "What news have you from the laboratory?"

"Santanus has finished the project," Razorleaf said, righting itself. "The specimens are ready."

"Excellent," hissed the queen. "And the conditions?"

"Just right for release," said Razorleaf. "Shall I go tell Santanus to release the specimens, Your Majesty?"

"That's exactly what needs to happen," said the queen.

"Consider it done, my liege," said Razorleaf, and it turned around and waddled out of the throne room.

The queen smiled wickedly. "Snow just got real."

_ONE WEEK PASSED._

A scream sounded behind Bryn, tearing across the tranquil air. Bryn whipped around and raced across the courtyard, stopping at the source of the scream. It was one of her fellow recruits. She was staring at a gash on her lower leg, which appeared to have a nasty infection. Purple veins were crawling out from the wound, up into her thigh.

"Celia!" said Bryn. "What happened?"

Celia looked at Bryn, tears brimming in her eyes. "I don't know," she sniffled. "Get Monavelle. Quickly. It hurts."

Bryn did not need to be told twice. She whirled back around and bolted for her quarters. "MomMomweneedtogetoutthereCelia'sbeenhurtanditlooks_really_bad," she shrieked to Monavelle, without taking a breath.

"Okay, Bryn, let's go," said Monavelle, grabbing the sheet from her cot and racing after Bryn, back to the courtyard. Celia had collapsed, sweat beading on her pale forehead and rolling in great droplets down the length of her long raven hair. Monavelle spread out the sheet, rolled Celia onto it, and turned to Bryn. "We need backup. And a healer."

"The nearest one is at the Magicians' Guild," Bryn said.

"Are you sure you can make it that far alone?" Monavelle asked.

"Mom, please. I don't call them lightning boots for nothing," Bryn smirked. Then she took off through the brush.

Branches scraped at Bryn as she ran, shaving the skin from her elbows and knees as she flew through the forest. Roots reached up and grabbed her feet, giving her faceful after faceful of dirt and mulch. Nettles ripped at her clothes and snagged her hair. When she arrived at the Magicians' Guild, Bryn was a sight to see. Her face and clothes were filthy, her shirt torn almost to shreds, her arms and legs bloodied and her ponytail full of leaves.

Bryn walked into the headmaster's office, squared her shoulders, and announced, "I demand to see a healer."

"I'll send for one," said the headmaster, and he entered the guild and walked down a specific corridor. He returned moments later with a slender young woman with orange hair, orange eyes, and robes the color of the setting sun.

She raised her hand in a shy greeting. "Hi. I'm Amber Blue."

"Nice to meet you, Amber," Bryn said. "I'm Bryn Briarcliff. I'm in need of a healer. There's somebody at the Archers' Guild who's really badly hurt."

Amber gasped. "The Archers' Guild? But that's miles away!"

"Anything is possible with lightning boots. Hop on my back," said Bryn matter-of-factly, kneeling and bending forward.

Amber glanced at the headmaster, who shrugged. Then she tentatively settled herself on Bryn's back. Bryn straightened up, looped her arms under Amber's legs, and took off through the brush.


	4. Chapter 4: Celia Tells All

Chapter 4: Celia Tells All

"So what happened to your fellow recruit?" asked Amber as they crashed through the forest.

"I don't know, really," Bryn answered. "She just screamed. It looked like she had a leg wound, and it looked like it was infected really bad. There were these purple veins running up her leg."

"Sounds like a corruption infection," said Amber. "I guess I'll see when we get there."

"Then you'll see now," said Bryn, straightening up. Amber toppled off her back with a squeak.

She got up, dusting herself off. "What was that for?!"

"We're here," said Bryn, gesturing to the Archers' Guild. Monavelle waved to Bryn from across the courtyard. A few other recruits were holding the corners of the sheet, and on the sheet lay Celia.

Monavelle signaled the other recruits, Nella, Piper, and Correl, and said, "Let's get her inside." Each recruit pulled the corners of the sheet taut, and carried Celia into the guild. With an experienced hand, Amber rolled the unconscious Celia off the sheet and onto a nearby bed in the medical ward. Then she examined her leg wound with a critical eye. The wound was nauseating to look upon; the purple substance had crawled up and down Celia's leg and webbed her calf and thigh with sickly indigo.

Amber turned to Bryn. "How long has this been around?"

"About half an hour," said Bryn, checking her watch.

Amber peered over the wound. "It has to be corruption," she said softly. "When corruption gets past a break in the skin, it's usually terminal. Celia's incredibly lucky you got me here in time. Such wounds are treatable if they're at most an hour old."

"What do you need to treat it?" asked Nella anxiously as she twisted her blouse around her finger.

"Treatment is simple," said Amber. "I just need a couple of handfuls of sand from the hallows, and some crushed fireblossoms."

"You're in luck; we just harvested a whole bunch, and we have lots of sand you can use," said Monavelle, sighing with relief.

The ingredients were quickly gathered. Then Amber mixed the hallowed sand with water and poured the resulting blue liquid over Celia's wound. It spread over her leg and congealed, creating a kind of gel sheath, and started miraculously sucking up the purple stuff. Once it had absorbed every mote of corruption, Amber used one of Correl's arrowheads to scrape it off and threw the purple mass away. She smeared foul-smelling ointment on the wound, stitched it shut, and wrapped it in linen bandages. Finally she took the mass of crushed fireblossoms and forced it into Celia's mouth.

Every recruit held their breath as Celia's jaw muscles moved, agonizingly, then slightly faster until she was chewing on the herbs. Then, Celia's eyes shot open, she sat up bolt upright in bed, and spat out the fireblossoms, leaving Amber's face covered with half-chewed red vegetable matter.

Celia coughed. "Those were _terrible!_ What was that for?"

"Fireblossoms," said Amber. "They were to get your motor kickstarted. Wonderful for the sinuses, am I right?"

_"Pthhhh! Yuk! Ptak!" _Celia choked, spraying more slobbery fireblossoms in Amber's face.

Amber grimaced under the mass of soggy herbs, then squared her shoulders and wiped her face clean. "Okay, here's the deal. I'd like to know what's up with that leg wound, preferably with a minimum amount of half-eaten fireblossoms."

"Well... I was out gathering some dayblooms for the herb stores, when I tripped over a root and fell on a sharp rock, which made the wound. So I started making my way back to the Archers' Guild and found this purple stuff in my path. I don't even know what it was, but I'm certain that it... it _followed me back._ Then, when I got back, it caught up to me and some of it got into the wound. I don't know what it was, but it was cold, very cold. And it hurt... and then Bryn heard me scream."

"Cthulhu's beard," Amber cursed under her breath. "There's something incredibly wrong going on here... and I don't know the source of it."

"I've got a nasty feeling that there's a quest in this," Bryn replied.

"You may be right," Amber grumbled. "Woo hoo."

**Foreshadowing?! Don't worry, there will be a few nice, long, juicy chapters coming soon!**


	5. Chapter 5: The Spread of the Snow

Chapter 5: The Spread of the Snow

Amber slumped on the bench. "I just don't understand what could have attacked Celia. And I'm a healer. I'm supposed to _know _these things."

"Wait a second... I'm remembering a myth that my mom told me when I was little. Basically, there are these four deities in control of the seasons, and you know that the winter one will take over the world when corrupted snow spreads over the land." Bryn shrugged her shoulders. "Something like that."

"Are you saying that the purple stuff was corrupted snow?" Amber asked, suddenly more alert.

"That's probably what it was. Celia said it was cold," said Bryn.

"Great," Amber grumbled. "Just what I need. Another mad goddess trying to take over the world. Did you know that my dad struck the killing blow to Cthulhu, back when he tried to destroy the world the second time? I guess having to fight evil deities runs in my family."

James ran out of the guild. "What'd I miss?"

"Amber's resenting the fact that she comes from a line of heroes," Bryn said in a singsong voice.

"I am _not!"_ Amber giggled, smacking Bryn in the arm.

"Wait... what?" James mumbled, dumbstruck. He was staring in awe at Amber and her shimmering, waist-length orange hair.

"Hey! James! Snap out of it," Bryn laughed, snapping her fingers before his face.

James shook his head a few times and blurted, "If you're questing, I want to go with you."

"We're questing? Says who?" Amber said pointedly.

"Um... says me?" James mumbled weakly.

"Bear in mind, Amber, if we don't want the end of the world on our heads, we'll have to do this," Bryn said.

Amber sighed. "Fine. I guess we'll have to go questing."

_Later..._

"That's what we propose," said Bryn, slapping a map down on Monavelle's desk.

"Are you sure?" asked Monavelle with concern. "I mean, corrupted snow is a myth. It's always been a myth. I told you that story when you were four years old."

"Mom, please. Corrupted snow? End of the world? Celia's leg? It sounds a little funky to me. If this leads to the end of the world because you wouldn't let us try and stop it, it's your fault. You've had to save the world once, right? You'd know."

Monavelle sighed. "All right. You can go on a quest to the jungle to try saving the world."

"All righty then," Amber said, rubbing her hands together. "Let's go change the fate of humanity. Whoopee... what fun."


	6. Chapter 6: Frozen Jungle

Chapter 6: Frozen Jungle

A few days later, Bryn, James, and Amber gathered their belongings into knapsacks and set off. Bryn led the group as they hiked, with Amber following close behind and James straggling along at the back of the pack, staring at Amber.

Bryn checked her map. "Take a break, guys. We've got a couple miles." James dropped his knapsack and immediately scampered off.

"Why'd we have to bring him?" asked Amber of Bryn. "He keeps staring at me. It's creepy."

"Companionship," she said. "Plus, if my bow breaks, I can steal his and leave him for dead."

"I heard that," James shouted.

"Break's over. Grab your pack," Bryn shouted at James, picking up her own and setting off. "Hurry up, slowpoke. The world isn't going to save itself."

They continued to hike over the hills, Amber pointing out various herbs and grasses along the way.

"That's a daybloom," she said, pointing to a small yellow flower.

Bryn rolled her eyes. "We KNOW it's a daybloom. Just like we knew that the last seven herbs were dayblooms."

"Well, that one over there's a moonglow," said Amber, pointing to a long-stemmed herb with a drooping tip.

"Wait... moonglows? Don't those grow in the jungle?" said Bryn, staring at the herb.

"Cthulhu's beard," Amber said in wonderment. "We're here."

"Are- are you sure?" said James. "It doesn't even look like the same _place._"

"You know what, James, you're right," said Bryn, scanning the landscape. Indeed, the trees were bent and broken and the grass, rather than its usual ultra-bright green, was brown and dead-looking. The pools of warm water scattered about the surface were frozen over and a few dead piranhas drifted around under the ice. The whole place was usually bristling with monsters and echoed with the screams of jungle bats and birds, but now it was eerily silent. And perhaps the most drastic change of all was the fact that the jungle, while usually hot and humid, was as dry and cold as death. Bryn, James, and Amber shivered.

Amber spoke. "Well... I guess we should at least find someplace to warm ourselves."

They trekked suspiciously into the jungle, their feet crunching through the frozen mud, until they found a dry spot to sit in. James brought in a handful of dead branches to light a fire, and they sat sullenly around the little flame and warmed their hands.

Bianca watched, and she smiled and rubbed her gloved hands together. She hated fire, but she'd let them have their warmth. At least for a few minutes.

"This is just _wrong,"_ Amber said, investigating one of the vine monsters nearby. Usually they'd be stretching their tethers and champing their jaws, trying to eat them, but right now they lay inert. When Amber waved her hand in its eye, the only response she got was a lazy snap of the jaws. The sound of bats screaming had also been silenced; the only bats they could see were hanging in a sleeping, shivering row on a nearby tree branch.

"No," said a silvery voice behind them. "I believe that this is just right."

The three whipped around to view a woman standing behind them. She was incredibly tall - nearly seven feet. Her silvery blue hair was tied up in a large bun on the back of her head with a cornflower-colored ribbon. A pair of dark blue eyes sparkled at them from her heart-shaped face, framed by a delicate tiara of icicles. She wore dark blue gloves edged with pure white fur and a strapless blue dress, edged with the same fur, and with tiny gems sewn into it. A pair of massive, translucent wings sprang from her bare shoulders. She seemed to twinkle when she moved.

"Who are you?" asked Bryn incredulously.

The woman threw back her head and laughed. "I am Bianca, the Lady of the Cold. And for your information, this jungle is exactly how I want it to be. The only things getting in the way of perfection," she snarled, pointing at them with a slender finger, "is you three. So you leave me no choice."

Bianca's wings started to flap, sending blasts of subarctic air at Bryn, James, and Amber as she rose into the air.

"Well, we're boned," James said matter-of-factly.


	7. Chapter 7: Plantera

Chapter 7: Plantera

Bryn lifted her bow and shot a barrage of arrows at Bianca with a roar. Bianca didn't even flinch and retaliated with a blast of icy air, sending all the arrows back at Bryn. She hardly had time to duck as they whistled over her head.

Bianca smiled gently. "I didn't know you played tennis. Here! My serve!" she snarled she swept another wave of freezing wind out from her arm. It blasted against them, blowing back Amber's and Bryn's hair. By the time it passed, they were shivering.

Bianca giggled. "Not so tough now, are we?"

"Tougher than you think," James grunted, shooting his own bow. "DIE!"

"I'd rather not, thank you," Bianca replied, lazily flicking the arrow away on a breeze. "Dying is supposed to hurt!"

"Why are you doing this?" Amber pleaded. "We thought you were cool! Both literally and figuratively!"

"I'm doing this because I want to," the ice queen snarled, turning away. "Deal with it. The world's a cold place."

"I refuse to let you make it so," said Bryn, lighting one of her arrowheads on fire and launching the arrow at Bianca. This time, instead of sending it away, Bianca gasped and ducked as the flaming arrow shrieked over her head.

"Hah! Afraid to play with fire?" James shouted, nocking three flaming arrows on his bow and shooting all three at once. Bianca dropped to the ground and rolled to avoid them. When she got up, she was covered with mud. She looked down at her dirty clothes, then back at James. There was murder in her eyes.

"Did you _have _to do that? This outfit cost me _two hundred platinum coins_! And it costs _so much _to dry-clean!" Bianca spat petulantly, desperately trying to scrape the mud off her satin dress.

"I didn't know that ice elementals even had to _wear _clothes," Bryn muttered. "Let alone dry-clean them."

"I heard that, you little twit," Bianca snarled. "For that, you get the slowest, most agonizing death."

"OH GOODIE," Bryn said sarcastically, dodging as another subarctic gust howled over her head. "I get to watch my friends die and then get killed by a mad psychopathic ice elemental just because there's a little mud on her dress. I'm such a privileged girl."

"Feel lucky," Bianca retorted. "So far, you three are the only individuals I have let survive for more than ninety seconds."

**_"Let's keep it that_**_ **way,"**_ thundered a voice from behind them.

Bianca barely had time to scream as something gigantic leaped with incredible speed out of a patch of dead bushes and started firing a barrage of thorns. She had no choice but to make good her escape, shouting "You haven't seen the last of me!" over her shoulder as she flew away.

Bryn, James, and Amber turned around to investigate the massive object behind them. It seemed to be made of organic materials, with three feet that could put a boa constrictor in a death grip leading back to the main body by way of thick, ropy vines. The body itself resembled a huge flower, with vines and stamen waving from the bottom and an impressive crown of enormous pink petals folding up into a bud shape. This gave the thing the appearance of a jungle rose just about to open in spring. An extremely large jungle rose, but a jungle rose nonetheless.

A sudden movement caught their eyes immediately, Bryn and James readying their bows. The petals rustled, then moved, just enough for a slender hand to appear. Then another joined it. Slowly they spread apart, flattening downwards to reveal the inside of the flower.

There was a woman standing inside it.

She was nearly as tall as Bianca, but she was her polar opposite in looks. Instead of tied up in a bun, her vibrant pink hair drifted loose and fell to her waist. She wore a dress sewn out of leaves that hugged her thighs and stopped just above her knees, and her eyes were emerald green rather than ice blue. The most striking differences were the absence of wings and the complexion; while Bianca's skin was white as milk, the woman in front of them was covered with a healthy golden tan.

She smiled, revealing brilliant white teeth, and stepped out of the flower. "I believe the expression is _thank you for saving our lives."_

"Um," said Amber.

"Who are you guys, anyway?" the woman asked, looking them up and down.

"I think the better question is _who are you," _James said, gesturing to her.

The woman gave a soft laugh. "Forgive me for not introducing myself. I'm Plantera, Goddess of the Spring and queen of the jungle. It's a pleasure to meet you."


	8. Chapter 8: Spring, Summer, and Fall

Chapter 8: Spring, Summer, and Fall

"Plantera? So the myths are true!" Amber said incredulously.

"Of course they're true," Plantera said. "You weren't convinced when Bianca appeared?"

"That's true. I guess manic ice elementals count as mythical beasts," pondered Bryn.

"It isn't safe out here. Get in," Plantera said urgently, stepping into her flower-vehicle. Bryn, Amber, and James followed suit, realizing that there was a lot more room in the bud than they thought. Plantera pulled a cord, and the petals folded back up, enclosing them in pink.

"Welcome to the Jungle Rose," said Plantera proudly, stepping over to a control board and staring out the gap where the petals didn't quite meet, at the very top of the flower. She tapped a few buttons and the Jungle Rose swiveled onto one side, the opening now facing straight forward.

Then it started to move. The three huge feet and vine legs started to lurch with surprising alacrity, jumping gracefully over trees and slumbering monsters in its path, until it reached a cavern.

Plantera turned to the three adventurers. "Hang on tight. This is going to be a wild ride." She turned back to the control board and pressed some buttons, then went to the wall and pulled down a huge green lever.

The Jungle Rose stood still for a few seconds, then it launched into the air, grasping the cavern roof with one of its feet. It swung across, latching another foot onto the ceiling, onto the floor, onto sides of the cavern as they went deeper into the cave, Bryn and Amber hanging onto the petal walls for dear life and James bouncing all around the inside of the flower. Plantera laughed and raised her hands into the air as if she was on a rollercoaster as the Jungle Rose pulled itself wildly through the underground jungle as if swinging on a trapeze.

Finally it stopped, and Plantera slapped a large release button on the wall of the flower. The Jungle Rose's petals slowly opened and she walked out unfazed. Bryn and Amber tottered dizzily out, leaning against the blossom to get their bearings.

Bryn suddenly realized something. "Wait a minute. Where's James?"

She was answered almost immediately with a shout of surprise as James fell from the bottom of the Jungle Rose, which had become the ceiling, and slid out on his stomach. He got up, dusted himself off, and exclaimed, "That... was... AWESOME! Can we do that again?"

"I'm gonna puke," Amber mumbled, and she did.

"Is this going to happen a lot?" Bryn snapped at Plantera while Amber lost her breakfast in a nearby bush.

"Well, it _is _my primary source of transportation, so... yes," Plantera admitted sheepishly.

"At least the ride's over, right?" Amber gasped, taking a break from ejecting her stomach contents.

"Yes," Plantera said. "This is the only patch of jungle Bianca doesn't control."

Bryn suddenly realized that instead of dry and cold, the air was once again warm and humid. Even though it was underground, it was exactly like the jungle was supposed to be. Hornets buzzed about, pollinating the drooping moonglows as leaves drifted about. In the middle of the cavern was an enormous building that seemed to be built entirely out of honeycomb and vines, with flowers blooming on the columns that held it up. Plantera helped Amber up and gestured to the building.

"Welcome," she said, "to Fort Spring."

"It's... _beautiful," _Amber breathed.

"It should be, we all built it!" came a voice from in front of them. Two other people had emerged from the building.

One was a man, even taller than Plantera, with orange hair and luminous golden eyes. He wore black armor and a flowing black cloak. Plantera ran up to him and embraced him. "Guys, this is Lord Gourd, pumpkin sovereign and King of Autumn."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Lord Gourd said. His voice was low, soft, and smoky. "What are your names?"

"I'm Bryn, and these are my friends James and Amber," said Bryn. Then she noticed the other person, standing behind Lord Gourd. "Who're you?"

The other person jumped out from behind him, saying, "Hello!" and drawing a collective gasp. She was a pretty woman from the waist up, with long golden hair, violet eyes, and a huge smile plastered on her face. But instead of forking into two legs and standing upright, her hips gave way to a fuzzy abdomen with six legs sprouting from it and a wicked-looking stinger on the back. She was a bee from the waist down. Two antennae sprang from her head, and a pair of small wings lay flat against her shoulders.

"Oh, my God, it's a bee," Amber said, before she could help it.

The bee-woman's wings snapped into action, lifting her into the air. She crossed her arms and stuck out her abdomen so that the huge stinger was level with Amber's stomach.

"You got a problem?" she said menacingly.

"N-no," Amber quavered, shaking all over.

The bee woman dropped to the ground. "Glad to hear it. The name's Honey. Honey Mellifera Chrystallis, Goddess of the Summer and Queen Bee."

"Pleased to meet you, Ms. Chr-Chis-Chrysss..." James faltered.

"You can just call me Honey, honey," said Honey. "Pleased to see you three here. Let's go inside, shall we?"


	9. Chapter 9: Dinner by Moonglowlight

Chapter 9: Dinner by Moonglowlight

"I'm starving," James said.

"Dinner - a glorious idea," said Honey, leading them into an enormous dining room and waddling off to retrieve some food.

"Wow - you folks really eat in style," said Bryn, admiring the vines and moonglow flowers lighting up the dining hall as Honey laid plates of food on the table.

"I'm sorry we don't have too much regular food here," Lord Gourd said as Amber, Bryn and James sat at the ornate honey table. "What we have is tailored to our... erm... _unusual _diets. Everything else is grown right here in the jungle."

"I can tell," Amber muttered, glancing at the food. They each had a plate stacked with honeycomb and fresh fruits, but Lord Gourd looked down at a plateful of light, presumably sunlight, with a side of mulch. Plantera had the same thing, and they each had a glass of water. Honey contemplated a wide, shallow soup plate filled with royal jelly.

Plantera held up her glass of water and proclaimed, "Let's eat."

As they ate, Amber asked, "So, did you and Bianca get along?"

Plantera giggled. Lord Gourd snickered. Honey started laughing so hard she snorted royal jelly out her nose.

When she recovered, she giggled, "Get along? Oh, _please._ She was on our side, but that's about it. Us four have been fighting since I was a larva."

James tried to imagine Honey as a larva, but he failed miserably.

"So that skirmish we had earlier... was that a usual occurrence with Bianca?" Bryn asked, gnawing on a honeycomb.

"No," Plantera said. "She's not herself. Not too long ago, she became internally infected with corruption, so it's on her head to bring about the apocalypse. It's said that when the end of the world comes, the moon will freeze. So we'll know, anyway," she said quickly, stabbing a fork into her mulch.

"Is there any way to prevent it?" asked Bryn.

"Yesnomaybe," said Lord Gourd, Plantera and Honey all at once.

"One at a time, please," laughed Amber.

"Basically, if the corruption is removed from Bianca before the frozen moon sets, then the moon will melt and the apocalypse will be averted," said Lord Gourd.

Plantera picked right up where he left off. "But if the frozen moon sets before it's melted, then Bianca will freeze the world. Even hell."

"So... you're saying that we'll be able to rid her of the corruption before hell freezes over?" said James.

Honey set down her spoonful of royal jelly and glared at James. "If you say that again I swear I will sting you. And trust me, you don't want me to sting you."

James nervously scooted away from Honey, who shrugged and continued daintily consuming her royal jelly.

Plantera stuffed the last spoonful of light into her mouth, excused herself, and walked around the table to the back door. When she reached Lord Gourd, she leaned down and pecked him on the cheek.

Bryn's eyebrows shot up. "Ooooh," she whispered to Amber. "Check out the plants in love."

"No doubt about it," she hissed back. "I wonder if they'd have to get one of Honey's minions to pollinate them."

"I don't know if that'll work," Bryn scoffed. "He's a pumpkin and she's a rose. They're entirely different species."

"That doesn't appear to be stopping them," Amber said softly as Lord Gourd arose and swept out to Plantera. "Ah, two centuries-old plant gods in love. Nothing like it in the world."

_Meanwhile..._

"Hey," Lord Gourd said, sitting next to Plantera and sliding his arm around her shoulders. Plantera blushed and reached up to take his hand.

"Hi," she said shyly, blushing so her face matched her hair.

"Are you nervous?" he whispered in her ear.

"For the end of the world? Yes. That you and I might get married? I'm more nervous about that than the end of the world."

He smiled at her and stroked her hair. "_Carpe diem, _my love."

"I love it when you talk Latin to me," she said, smiling. They slipped off the wall they were sitting on and walked to a flat patch of dirt covered in soft green grass, where the moonglow flowers dimly lit the area with a blue glow. Lord Gourd placed one hand on Plantera's slender waist as she slid hers onto his shoulder. Their free hands found each other, and in that warm night underground, Lord Gourd and Plantera danced the dance of those in love.


	10. Chapter 10: Energy Bow

Chapter 10: Energy Bow

**Sorry about the delay, but recently the road to the destination that is the final battle has been obstructed by a massive WRITER'S BLOCK, so I've pushed out Chapter 10 much too late, but better late than never so enjoy!**

Bryn leveled a steely-eyed gaze at the paper target in front of her, lips curling into a snarl. She lifted her slender pearlwood longbow, drew back the string, and let fly. The arrow punched a hole in the target, right where the heart would be.

A voice spoke behind Bryn. "If you're training to fight Bianca, I'd recommend shooting for the head or jaw. Knock her out so we can remove the corruption." She whirled around to see Plantera standing there, with a bow and quiver of her own.

"Also, you might want to stun, not kill," she said, pointing out the arrows in Bryn's quiver. They were ordinary, made of wood and flint, but became especially deadly when Bryn clipped one of her attachments to her bow. Bryn, being inventive, had created hundreds of different ringlike attachments that clipped to a bow. When arrows passed through them, they became imbued with a different power. The fire attachment lit arrows on fire, the poison attachment tipped them with neurotoxins, the ichor attachment coated them in sticky golden goop, et cetera.

Bryn shrugged her shoulders. "I don't have any stun arrows. I guess my aim would be okay, but it'd have unfortunate side effects for Bianca."

"Like what?" said Plantera, cocking her head and reaching into her quiver for an arrow.

"Like embedding a flaming arrow in her skull," Bryn said darkly, launching a volley of arrows at various points on the paper target with deadly precision.

"Maybe you can use my bow," Plantera said helpfully. She lifted up her bow, a beautifully shaped weapon made of pure shroomite. When her hand emerged from the quiver, it was empty. Bryn watched in wonder as Plantera drew back the bowstring - for instead of drawing back an arrow, a ball of energy gathered in Plantera's hand. The longer she held the bowstring, the bigger the ball grew until Bryn could feel it setting her hair on end. Then Plantera released the bowstring and the energy flew from the bow, sending a shockwave rippling all across the archery range and making the paper target flutter madly in the sudden influx of force.

Plantera lowered her bow and sighed happily. "They don't make bows like this baby anymore. 100% shroomite, and it fires pure energy. How awesome is _that?"_

"So completely awesome, I... I don't... I don't even," Bryn breathed, her eyes glued to the weapon. "I have lost my ability to even."

"You can give it a try if you want," said Plantera, lowering her bow into Bryn's trembling hands. It was made entirely of dark blue shroomite, with large fins flowing from it and making it look like it was sprouting leaves. It seemed to hum to Bryn's touch. She instinctively reached into her quiver, but Plantera shook her head. "You don't need arrows."

Bryn drew her hand out of the quiver and slid it down the length of the silver bowstring. Then she raised the weapon and began pulling back on the string, squinting one eye at the target. As she held back the oddly silklike string, a ball of energy started to gather in her hand. Then she released the string and a shockwave shot across the archery range, making all the targets in the row flap.

Plantera gestured to the bow. "Ya know, with the Jungle Rose and Ergo Sum, I have plenty of weaponry. You can keep that Pulse Bow if you want. It's served me well over the years, and now it's yours."

Bryn looked up at Plantera, eyes shining, the Pulse Bow flat on her outstretched palms. "Plantera, I- I don't know what to say. This is the best gift anyone's ever given me, _ever. _But... what's that thing you mentioned, Ergo Sum?"

"It doesn't concern you," Plantera said quickly, turning away. "Don't worry about it - you'll find out what it is in due time. Enjoy your bow."

"Thanks, Plantera," Bryn said gratefully, hugging the bow to her chest.


End file.
